


Among Roses and Red Dahlias

by QueenieWithABeenie



Series: The Computer Aided Asylum [1]
Category: N/A - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Good Cop Bad Cop, Murder Mystery, Police AU, Serial Killer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-21 09:07:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17639858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenieWithABeenie/pseuds/QueenieWithABeenie
Summary: Detective Xavier Donovan and his partner, Maya Lexis, are assigned to investigate what appears to be a routine, run-of-the-mill stabbing, but when they arrive on-scene, what they find is not so elementary as it seems...





	Among Roses and Red Dahlias

    The rain pelted the windshield relentlessly, too much for even the highest wiper speed to keep up as they created a curtain in front of the car. The only shred of relief for the vehicle’ driver was the bright blue and red lights atop the car and the beam of white light from the searchlight. The driver could hear the hammering rain on the roof and hood, and in his mind likened it to a spray of bullets against reinforced steel.  
    It was giving him a headache.  
    Xavier Donovan, recently promoted to detective, shot a tired glance at his partner as he put the cruiser in park and leaned back into the seat. His silver-blue eyes were duller tonight…  
    “Are you actually going to survive another six hours or not?” Her voice held a bitter edge, but she was sincere in her concern. Maya had a strange way of showing affection, Xavier had often noted. She was quick-tempered and had a prominent violent streak, but she was kind at heart to those she genuinely cared for.  
    Xavier drew in a long breath, successfully filling his lungs before letting it all out in a single huff. They needed to get out onto the scene… the others were waiting on them. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”  
    “Mm, no, not really.” Was the blunt reply.  
    _At least she was honest._  
    Xavier stuck out his lower lip, pouting like a child. It was a moment before her glare forced him to back down and pick his icy façade back up. “Shall we, Milady?” Xavier raised an impatient brow at her as he unlocked the cruiser.  
    Maya’s look of neutral boredom gave way to a slightly amused smile. “You’re insufferable.”  
    “You know you love me.”  
    A pause, then- “That’s highly debatable, Xavi.” The deadpan expression was enough to chase away his attempts at flirting with her.  
     Xavier sighed: a grand and overdramatic gesture that was enough to coax the smile back onto her milk-white cheeks.  
    In another universe, they might be able to pass as siblings. But Xavier’s mop of red hair and freckled face was enough to separate him from Maya’s pale skin and platinum ponytail. She most definitely looked to be the more intimidating of the two, which tended to work out in their favour.  
    Xavier sighed deeply as he opened his door and was instantly pelted with ice-cold rain.  
    “How badly must life be kicking my ass if I’m not even flinching at this..?” He mused, shoulders drooping a little as he looked towards the roped-off apartment building.  
      _They were there to interrogate a potential murder suspect, as well as several witnesses._  
    The ambulances were already leaving, and just inside the lobby Xavier could see the sherif waiting with another pair of officers. No one really appeared to be in the mood for anything, and Xavier had the itching feeling that the early March rain was dampening everyone’s spirits.  
    “So remind me again what happened?” Maya leaned on the roof of the charm staring past the lights at him. She didn’t care about the water, honestly. She never cared about such minor inconveniences.  
    Xavier rounded the front of the car, posture hunched in an attempt to shield himself as much as possible from the rain. “Break in, stabbing, theft, there’s a list.”  
    Maya pushed away from the car lazily and stood tall as she walked beside Xavier, one hand resting comfortably on her tool belt over the nightstick. “Sounds like the same thing as last week…” She paused a moment, chewing on the corner of her lips in thought. Xavier watched her intently.“Think they could be linked?”  
    The detective shrugged, keeping his shoulders close to his body until they got to the lobby. “I guess we’re gonna find out, aren’t we?”

  
    “Detectives Donovan, Lexis. Good to see you two got here safely.” Sherif Rose looked just as worn out as the detectives felt. He was an older man, maybe in his mid-60’s and balding after years of stress from the job. Regardless, his steel green eyes held the same determination they always had, despite decades of witnessing horror after horror.  
    Xavier gave a curt nod. “Wish it was under better circumstances… What’s the situation look like now?”  
    Rose sighed with a shake of his head. “Well, CSI’s already taken a run-through, Officers House and Connor are detaining the residents in the commons, and all suspects we currently have are being watched by my deputies,” He explained, brows drawn in thought.  
    “What did CSI say?” Maya spoke up, crossing her arms defensively over her chest. Xavier barely caught it, but she shivered slightly as she shifted stance. He frowned a little.  
    “Nothing yet for sure, but the victim lived alone, and there were definitely signs of struggle.”  
   “And the victim?” Maya looked over and up at Xavier, brow raised as her eyes flicked to his waist. Xavier nodded and pulled out the little notepad he kept in his pocket.  
Rose thought for a moment before speaking. “Um, female, 34 years old. Tessa Miriam. She’s a social worker a few towns over.” Xavier nodded as he jotted down the information. “Her apartment is pretty sparsely furnished, nothing terribly personal.”  
    “You don’t sound convinced,” Xavier remarked dryly, looking up at the sherif.  
    “I’ll leave that up to the two of you.”  
    Xavier laughed humorlessly. “Well, if it’s what I’m getting payed for, why the hell not?” The comment earned an eye-roll and elbow in the ribs from Maya. Xavier coughed a little. “Really?”  
    “Really,” she deadpanned, glaring up at him. Sherif Rose shook his head at their antics, very clearly amused. “Whenever you’re ready, buddy.” Maya smacked Xavier’s shoulder as she brushed past him.  
   Xavier watched her walk off, dazed. “Detective?”  
    “Hm? Oh, yeah. Right…”

  
    ‘ _Signs of struggle_ ’ was an understatement, they soon discovered. Xavier made a face at the blood spatter that decorated the wall directly in front of them. Both’s hands hovered over their weapons, just in case someone had managed to get in past the posted officers.  
    “Jesus cheese-its…”  
    Maya grimaced. “I say we give it a once-over and then head down as soon as we can to start the interviews.” The suggestion drew a nod from Xavier, who let out a long breath.  
    “Ohhh, boy… Where do we even start in here?”  
    Maya’s eyes narrowed, brows knitting together in thought. “Well, let’s start right here. What do you see?”  
    “A lot of blood, CSI’s spikings…. At least we know where the stabbings happened, approximately,” Xavier’s face contorted in concentration, lower lip jutted out in a bit of a pout. He bit the inside of his cheek, venturing into the apartment and skirting around the flagged sections. Xavier froze for a moment before spinning around and looking back at the door behind Maya. “No forced entry, so we can rule out break in…”  
    “How can you be sure?”  
    “Unless we’re dealing with Spider-Man, then the fact that we’re on the fifth floor is pretty solid evidence,” Xavier remarked. “And no one was posted by the fire escapes.”  
    “And it’s warm in here,” Maya tacked on, looking around the disheveled living room. “If the windows were broken, then it would be cold in here.”  
    “Especially tonight,” Xavier agreed, turning his gaze to the singular hall that he assumed led to the bathroom and bedrooms. He brushed his thumb over the texture in the weapon’s grip, worried. “Maya, I’m gonna take a look down here.”  
    “Don’t die, moron,” Maya called after him, crouching down to examine a large spatter.  
    “Wanna bet…?” Xavier mumbled, peaking into the first room on the left. It was an office, just as upended and disastrous as the living room. Xavier raised a brow and entered the room, flipping the light on as he did so. There bulb flickered, but did not turn on successfully. Xavier sighed and turned on his flashlight, sweeping it over the room.  
‘ _No blood, no signs of anything other than a raging madwoman…_ ’ Xavier thought, biting the flashlight between his teeth as he rummaged through the papers. “Dis is g’nna be f’n.” He mumbled through the flashlight. ‘ _These journals are meticulous….like she was…paranoid about something…’_ There was a clatter, and Xavier screeched and nearly jumped out of his skin, dropping the flashlight and his firearm in the process.  
    Maya was doubled over in laughter in the doorway. “Sorry…sorry, I walked into a door….” She wheezed, straightening her posture. “What’d you find?”  
    Xavier shot her a bone-chilling glare as he clutched his heart, trying to catch his breath. “You’re an ass.”  
    “We know that, but what did you find in here?” Maya pressed her mouth into a stressed line.  
    “Well…” Xavier puffed, shining the light around the room again, one hand rested on his belt. “…depends on what you define as “finding”. She was certainly paranoid about something…”  
    Maya gave him an inquisitive and encouraging look, prompting him to continue. “But?”  
    “But everything is so scattered and disorganized that I can’t tell what was written when,” he concluded, once again chewing on his lip and looking back at her. “What did you find out there?”  
    Maya sucked in a breath and crossed her arms tightly, mouth once more pressed into an annoyed line. “Same as you. This place looks barely lived in, kitchen was purged of all but the staples for food and a couple of plates here and there. My best guess? She either hasn’t lived here long or she knew something was going to happen and was preparing.” Xavier nodded in agreement and ran his thumb along the base of his firearm.  
    “We should check the bathroom and bedroom. Split up?”  
    Maya shrugged and her still-wet ponytail slipped over her shoulder. “Might as well. I want to get downstairs as soon as we can.”  
    Xavier brushed past her and into the hall. “Agreed. One of use should talk to the CSIs while we’re here, too.”  
    “Yep, kinda figured that already.”  
  
    The bathroom was just as sparse as the kitchen, Maya noted dryly. “And honestly in desperate need of a good cleaning,” she tacked on as she drew the shower curtain back. “How long do you think it’s been?”  
    “I dunno, but if there was no forced entry, I want to know who the hell made the call.” Xavier’s eyes were narrowed to slits behind his glasses by the time he opened the medicine cabinet over the sink. At least ten prescription and over-the-counter drug bottles stared back at him.  
    _Tylenol, ibuprofen, amoxicillin…._  
    “OxyContin?” He pulled the orange bottle out and looked at the rest of the label, brow raised curiously.  
    Maya peaked over her shoulder, face scrunched in a variety of expressions. “Man…that’s hardcore.”  
    “I feel like every answer asks ten more questions,” The detective remarked dryly. “It’s not even prescribed to her… Look.” Xavier handed her the bottle and sure enough, printed on the sticker was the name ‘Lilian Frost’.  
    Maya whistled under her breath. “Well then.”  
    “Well, at least now we have a budding theory,” Xavier leaned against the sink counter, arms crossed and watching Maya examine the bottle.  
    “Drug-related?”  
    Xavier nodded, “I’d bet money on it.”  
    “That gives us a place to start after we go through the standard bullet-list of questions,” Maya sighed and reached around Xavier to replace the bottle on the shelf. A thought struck her. “Who wants to bet half of these aren’t even what they say they are?”  
    “I’ll take that bet, too.”  
    “I’m sure you would. Bedroom?”    
    Xavier’s eyes snapped open and he gave her a playful look. Said expression only earned a scowl and another smack on the shoulder. “You’re a toddler…”  
    “Yeah, but I’m _your_ toddler.”  
    Maya’s scowl deepened. “You’re insufferable, Detective.”  
    Xavier pushed away from the counter, grinning stupidly. “You know you love me.”  
    “Ah,” His partner held a finger up in front of his face. “I _tolerate_ you.”  
    “Mmhm.” 


End file.
